The formless SELF!

Updated on May 24, 2014

Self -explanatory!

The mysterious Self behind the creation and cosmos!

In this world, power corrupts more than wealth. A wealthy man always hankers for power. In the recently concluded parliamentary elections in India, around 60% of the contestants were multi-millionaires. Why they contest the elections? It is for the sake of power. It is the natural psychology of human beings. A jobless man would hanker fervently for a job even if it fetches him few rupees. Once he accepts the job, his next aim would be to earn more by way of promotions etc. Of course, it will take five to ten years for anyone to expect promotions in India. If one is not able to secure a promotion, at least he would try for a pay rise. If he is fortunate, he would get a pay rise! What next? It is marriage naturally. Like this our mind desires for more and more and it is never satisfied at any stage. When something is out of your reach, you will try all means to get it as though it is the ultimate aim of our life. For instance, I had a feature phone costing around 4K. When I was going through the newspapers and magazines, I found that a tablet of 7” would be comparatively better since in the small screen of the mobile, it is not easy to read the entire content. Somehow I got it at a modest price of Rs.3.5K. It was nice with a big screen etc. I enjoyed the gadget for quite some time and now I feel, a bigger one with sim card slots would be adequate. This is how, our mind hankers. It never knew satisfaction. When you purchase a new gadget, you will be happy for few days. Afterwards, it will lie in some corner without anybody to caress it.

Likewise, a jobless man ends up in a nice job with good salary and his next quest would be marrying a nice girl. The marriage life would go nicely for two or three months. Then slowly the problem starts. Expenses increase in geometric progression. If they could own a house, the rental expenses will come down. Then the family expands with one or two children. Now, even with increased income, the man is not able to manage the expenses. Then he starts thinking about the good old bachelor days! Why the mind is always dissatisfied? What is the cause for this discontent? Scriptures present many examples. So long as you feed the fire, it will raise its tongues ferociously. Pouring more fuel into the fire will never quench it. The wise method is ‘to desist feeding the fire with more fuel. Once you stop feeding or pouring the fuel, the fire will get extinguished on its own. Likewise, our desires do not subside so long you feed them. Stop feeding the desires, then it will come to a halt. But this seems to be a very tall preposition. How to stop desiring? You have to cultivate detachment and discrimination. All the worldly things are perishable and they are never permanent. All the sensual pleasures are momentary! Why hanker for these temporary things and pleasures? Why not seek permanent Bliss? The next question is “where we can get the bliss? Bliss is really supra-worldly. All we enjoy in this temporal world is ephemeral and they never last. The bliss which is related to the Self alone is long lasting and eternal. The Self is the basis for the entire creation. The Self pervades the creation and cosmos and transcends it too. It was the only existence that goes before the creation and it will remain even after the creation is annihilated in the final dissolution. It is self-existing. None has created it since it is the primal cause of everything. Bodies take birth and depart but the Self remains forever. It is not subject to time, place or causation. The formless self is the cause for all forms we perceive in the world.

Once Sri Sathya Saibaba has told the audience, “my empty palm contains everything! This statement may seem defying logic. How an empty thing could contain everything? It is simple!. The sky or space is empty. Does it not contain the entire creation in it? The Self is subtler than the sky and hence there is no barrier or limit to the Self. It is immeasurable, ever present and it contains all the knowledge or wisdom and it remains ever in Bliss. Neither the mind, nor the intellect can gauge the Self. The Self is ever-present, everywhere! But it cannot be seen by the eyes nor can be heard by the ears. The tongue cannot explain it. Even the mind cannot imagine about it. The only expression which will fit is “not this, not this”. Only by negating everything, we can infer its presence!

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